The Foundation uses a variety of events to help support the mansion, and the holiday season is one of the favorite times of the year at the Mansion.  Every year a new Christmas ornament is unveiled, and this year’s ornament celebrates New Orleans’ 300th Anniversary.  There are now 14 official ornaments in the collection, all of which are available for purchase through the Foundation.   

The Annual Evening at The Mansion Gala is held each holiday season.  Tickets are available for this magical night that celebrates the state’s famous cuisine with a spectacular meal catered by a Louisiana celebrity chef, and the evening is capped off by one of Louisiana’s famed musical performers.    

Engraved bricks are available to be placed on the grounds of the mansion to honor family and friends.   In addition, First Lady Edwards has designed a beautiful set of state china that was purchased by private individuals and donated to the Governor’s Mansion collection.  This historical set contains a design of 18 fleur de lis on the coffee cup representing Louisiana’s place as the 18th state and 64 fleur de lis on the dinner plate representing Louisiana’s 64 parishes. The set was created in a beautiful state blue and gold pattern.

All of these items can be seen and purchased through the governor’s mansion website www.governorsmansion.org or by calling the Executive Director of the foundation, Sandy McClelland at 337-578-4063 or by email gmpfinc@gmail.com.  

Metanoia is a word of ancient Greek origin meaning the journey of changing one’s mind, heart and self or way of life. Metanoia is also a safe haven in Louisiana for victims of sex trafficking, a secure place where caring adults help survivors heal emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Trafficking is the fastest growing and second largest criminal industry in the United States and in Louisiana alone, over the last several years thousands of victims have been identified as either confirmed or prospective victims of human sex or labor trafficking. The Texas-to-Florida corridor is a major route for this heinous crime.   The average age of victims is 13 and they come from every walk of life – some are abducted while others are lured by traffickers. All of these victims are in need of a safe place to recover and rebuild.  Metanoia grew as a response to this epidemic.

Gov. John Bel Edwards and First Lady Donna Edwards are very passionate about the prevention of human trafficking, also referred to as modern day slavery.  They have traveled to Rome to meet with church and government officials about working together on a global scale to end this terrible crime and are proud to have helped open Metanoia in 2017.   

Blessed with a dedicated staff who works tirelessly to meet the needs of the survivors, through hard work, faith, education, devotion and love, Metanoia  provides a means to help them rebuild their lives and transition into productive members of society who will not be defined by the past.

Expanding the network of community and faith-based supports for foster parents was the focus of the second annual Louisiana Fosters event, hosted Sept. 21 at the Governor\’s Mansion by First Lady Donna Edwards and the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

The summit featured guest speaker Jennifer Rodriguez, executive director of the Youth Law Center, and a panel discussion on community and faith-based partnerships with the state\’s foster care system.

\”It\’s exciting to see how Louisiana Fosters has progressed since last year\’s launch, growing from a hope and a challenge to a thriving community of Louisianans with arms stretched wide around our state\’s foster parents and the children in their care,\” Edwards said. \”These are Louisiana\’s children — our children — and we must do everything we can to ensure their future.\”

Louisiana Fosters is a statewide network linking government, faith, nonprofit, business and service communities in support of foster parents and children. Since Edwards launched the initiative in August 2017, dozens of nonprofits and faith-based groups, large and small, across the state have stepped in to provide the kinds of resources foster parents need to ensure stability and guidance for the children and youth in their care.

\”There\’s still a lot of room at the table and many more foster families and children to help,\” Edwards said. \”We\’re hoping to encourage more partnerships in every region of the state.\”

The Louisiana Fosters network builds upon DCFS\’s implementation of the Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI), an approach to foster care that emphasizes teamwork among foster parents, birth parents and agency staff.

\”The most important partners in the foster care system are the foster parents, and yet their needs are often lost in the demands of providing critical support to the children and youth entrusted to their care,\” said DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters. \”The goal of Louisiana Fosters is to improve the supports available to these caregivers through partnerships between the community and the foster care system. Together, we are building the village our foster parents need to care for our children.\”

Attendees included Court Appointed Special Advocates, judges, foster parents, DCFS caseworkers, teachers, school counselors, faith leaders, Louisiana Fosters network partners and business leaders from across the state. Each was asked to draw upon his or her background and training to help find solutions to issues pertaining to foster youth and their caregivers.

\”Having such a diverse group of committed stakeholders at the table will give us a broad range of perspectives on the issues our foster parents and children face and ways we might go about solving them,\” Walters said.

The event was sponsored by Casey Family Programs, the nation\’s largest operating foundation focused on safely reducing the need for foster care and building communities of hope for America\’s children and families.

In the fall of 2012, Kim & Kristyn Carver were invited to attend a gala in Washington, DC hosted by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.  Being the adoptive parents of two little girls, sisters, honoring those doing extraordinary work in the fields of adoption and foster care was a perfect fit for the Carvers. But, little did they know that event would be the beginning of a major change for their family.

“We were busy professionals raising two toddlers at the time,” shares Kristyn, a professor of psychology and counseling at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  “We knew nothing about foster care at the time, the plight of vulnerable children in care or the biological and foster families who care for them.  There are so many constraints on the system and we were in the dark.”

Inspired to become more involved in Louisiana’s foster care system, Kim & Kristyn were hit with some incredible news as soon as they returned home.  The birth mother of their adopted daughters had given birth to another baby who had been placed into foster care. Immediately, the Carvers began advocating for the new baby, and that’s when they learned that if they became certified foster parents, she could be placed in their home with her sisters.  

“Once we began the journey into becoming foster parents, we learned that the system was broken and not functioning well due to repeated years of budget cuts and a dearth of quality foster families for the state to use as a resource,” Kim says.  “We were working to bring a child into our home with her family and realized the need of a system overwhelmed by limited resources.\”

Based on their experience, the Carvers decided to do what they could to make a difference. Fast forward a few years, and much has changed. First, they formally adopted their youngest daughter at the age of two, and “The 3 Carver Girls” as their parents and family refer to them, are thriving, energetic and passionate children.   

Secondly, through Crossroads NOLA, a faith based nonprofit , Kim and Kristyn help recruit, support and train foster families.  Thanks to the faith based community, it has really taken hold and now has a network of over 60 church partners.  

Kristyn uses her formal education in trauma interventions to train hundreds of professionals involved in the foster system, including judges, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers, caseworkers from the Department of Children & Family Services, attorneys, foster families, and teachers.  

“We are giving the people who care for our most vulnerable children a common language and a set of strategies to bring healing to those who have been impacted by the trauma of abuse, neglect and separation.  The results are confirming what we know from the science – connection and trust in meaningful relationships with caregivers and adults improve outcomes for our children and their families.”

Kim and Kristyn are also thrilled to work with First Lady Donna Edward on her initiative – Louisiana Fosters, which brings together government, non-profit, faith and community leaders and organizations to help support foster parents and children.   

“We all have skills, resources or connections that can improve outcomes for children and families on the underside of power,” Kim says.  “It has been amazing to see the lift Louisiana Fosters and its many partners around the state have made to our state’s foster care system.”

“Many people look at our family and mention how fortunate our daughters are to have been adopted – to be given family and connection,” Kim says.  “In all actuality – Kristyn and I are the lucky ones in this deal. In all of this, God gave us a powerful faith.”

“He is right,” Kristyn says.  “We are the lucky ones.”